Books for Every Christian Gentleman: Developing your Body, Soul and Spirit

Last week we discussed four books that from my experience made for impactful reading and are also relevant for developing the three fields of a man’s life; Marriage, Ministry, and Money. Today, I would like to share with you five (5) books that should be helpful in developing holistically; body, soul, and spirit. By so doing you should be able to live a balanced and fulfilled life in your Marriage Ministry and Money.

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The Book of Proverbs by Multiple Authors

While this book is not an “independent” book like the rest below, I found that the book of Proverbs in the Bible provides unparalleled advice for many aspects of life from business to marriage, and is a superior guide for any Christian man who is able to unlock its deep meanings and relevance to everyday life. My advice would be to read through the book of Proverbs intently at least three (3)  times in your lifetime.

Thinking for a Change by John C. Maxwell

This book was one of my favorite reads growing up. It was given to me by my dad and I enjoyed every bit of it. It is a book about thinking, stimulating the mind to engage in conscious and well-guided thoughts to help solve problems and drive the relevant changes one needs in life and society. I seriously enjoyed reading it at the time.

The Total Man by Dan Benson

Books that teach a man how to live a balanced and fulfilled life are rare but The Total Man is an excellent example of one such book. Dan Benson did an excellent work with this book and while there were no direct Christian references in this book, I believe it is one book that every Christian man should read.

The Extraordinary Gentleman: A Handbook for Christian Men by Selorm Agbleze

This is a book that is partly inspired by this blog. Like The Total Man, it sets out to help a man live a balanced and fulfilled life while on earth. However, unlike The Total Man, this book has direct references to the Bible on some pages to help you with further learning from the word of God on the topics discussed. A free copy of the book can be found here.

The Oracle; A Manual on the Art of Discretion by Balthasar Gracian

This book, also called The Art of Worldly Wisdom, is one of the most immensely informative books I have ever read. I believe that it offers timeless advice for a Christian man who would like to know how the unsaved mind works and how to respond to situations that he meets on Earth. However, as a recommendation, my advice is that you read the Book of Proverbs through three (3) times to give you proper context for the wisdom shared in this book.

Books for Every Christian Gentleman: Developing your Marriage, Ministry and Money

Welcome to our first publication of 2024. Like the closing article for last year, this article will focus on the subject of books. As a growing Christian man, I have been influenced by books I have no doubt shaped the skills and personality I have developed over time. Out of these books, I have selected nine (9) whose lessons stuck with me the most and I would like to share them with you. My hope is that you will experience the same or more impact than what I enjoyed by reading them. The books I am sharing with you are not all explicitly Christian books, so, they would require that you read them with a Christian perspective and with discernment as I believe that the best Human works may still have human flaws.
In today’s article, present the first four (4) books related to the three fields of a man’s life, Marriage, Ministry, and Money, with short comments about each book. In the next article, I plan to focus on five books that I believe are relevant to the holistic development of a man’s Body, Soul, and Spirit.

Marriage
Model Marriage by Dag Heward-Mills
This book’s discussion of personality types and marriage has stuck with me through my young marriage. I was amazed by its accuracy in linking personality types to individuals’ to their approaches to the marriage relationship. I believe that this book would be particularly helpful for a man who wants to have an initial understanding of his wife’s predispositions and how he may respond to those in marriage. Of course, people change as the marriage progresses but understanding their initial predispositions may be helpful in reducing misunderstandings and increasing empathy especially early on in marriage.

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Ministry
God’s Generals by Roberts Liardon
Roberts Liardon’s God’s General’s collection of books is very helpful to read very early in life, or at least very early in the Christian life. The one in the series that might be of the most relevance is God’s Generals: Why They Succeeded and Why Some Fail. While it is focused on people who were influential in ministry, it is quite helpful in understanding that influential men and women in the service of God are not without flaws but most importantly what are some of the mistakes that Christians, even influential ones can make in ministry.

Money
The Richest Man In Babylon by George Clason
This book, argued to be based on translations of ancient texts from Babylon, explains the first principles of making, managing and multiplying money. It provides insights on how to build financial security or even wealth from various circumstances using anecdotes and stories. The book is based in ancient Babylon, hence, it is one of those books you would need to read with a Christian perspective and discernment. For example, replacing references to gods with God Almighty. Some versions of this book are written in ancient English, I enjoyed those versions but if you are less comfortable with ancient English, you may want to grab modern translations.

The Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki
The cashflow quadrant was influential in my choice of career, even though that may not have been the directly intended purpose of the Book. In my opinion, it discussed the four ways of making, managing, and multiplying money, and by reading it I found it helpful in choosing the kind of career I found relevant to the kind of life that I wanted to live and the way I wanted to handle the Money aspect of my life. It may be helpful to read the first book in the series Rich Dad Poor Dad before reading the Cashflow Quadrant, however, I found Robert Kiyosaki’s books (the two that I read) to have high words-to-lesson ratio, so please feel free to skip to portions you believe may be most relevant for the lessons you want to read.